It has been known heretofore to provide a flocked fabric by passing a base fabric with an adhesive coating through an electrostatic flocking machine in which the electrostatic field that is generated within a chamber causes the fibres to adhere essentially vertically on the surface of the fabric. The adhesive, usually latex, has already been applied to at least one surface of the fabric, and the ends of the flocked fibres embed themselves in the latex and are anchored there when the latex is subsequently dried or cured. Such fabrics have had utility for a wide variety of purposes but have had the serious limitation that they possess a rather disagreeable "hand" or surface feel or appearance which has seriously limited the saleability of the product.
Similarly, efforts have been made to create synthetic suede having surface patterns according to a predetermined geometric design and to use different colors or different tones of a color, but the resulting products have been deficient in appearance and have been subject to serious damage when washed or exposed to water.